The Spark of 'Shutdown System Abolition' Ignited by Minecraft

Minecraft Shutdown System Restricts Under-19 Sign-Ups
National Assembly Also Proposes Bills to Abolish Shutdown System
Ministry of Gender Equality to Discuss Improvements This Month... Experts Say "No Practical Benefit"

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] Discussions on abolishing the Shutdown System are accelerating. This is because the PC game enjoyed by teenagers, "Minecraft" (photo), is included in the Shutdown System only in South Korea. In the National Assembly, bills to abolish the system have been continuously proposed, marking the beginning of the abolition process 10 years after the Shutdown System was introduced.

According to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on the 12th, several amendments to the Youth Protection Act aimed at abolishing the Shutdown System have been proposed. On the 9th, Representative Kwon In-sook of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed an amendment to delete the regulation restricting internet game usage during late-night hours and to provide a basis for counseling and educational services so that youths and their guardians can voluntarily control game usage. On the same day, Representative Jung Cheong-rae and others from the Democratic Party proposed an amendment to exclude e-sports players under 16 from the Shutdown System. Representative Heo Eun-ah of the People Power Party suggested improving the term "internet game addiction" to "over-immersion" and abolishing the late-night usage restriction. Representative Kang Hoon-sik of the Democratic Party also proposed a "parental choice system" allowing guardians to request permission for gaming during late-night hours.

The controversy over abolishing the Shutdown System was sparked by "Minecraft," a video game where players can create desired worlds through building, hunting, and farming in a block-based environment, with cumulative sales exceeding 200 million copies. During the account integration process by the operator MS, only users under 19 in South Korea were restricted from signing up, and once accounts were integrated, the Shutdown System was applied to those under 16, causing backlash among teenage users. About 20,000 people agreed to a Blue House petition demanding the abolition of the Shutdown System, stating "Minecraft is at risk of becoming an adult-only game." Minecraft user groups criticized the administrative convenience regulation, saying it only causes the Galapagos syndrome in the Korean market. The Shutdown System controversy has even intensified calls for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

On May 5, 2020, the Blue House created a virtual Blue House in Minecraft to celebrate Children's Day and invited child users.

The Shutdown System restricts access to games for youths under 16 from midnight to 6 a.m. Since its introduction in 2011, it has faced multiple abolition debates, and in 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled it constitutional, maintaining it to this day. The effectiveness of the Shutdown System has been continuously questioned. It applies only to PC games, not mobile or console games, can be circumvented by using overseas servers or others' IDs, and there are concerns about the appropriateness of the state regulating youths' personal leisure activities. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family plans to discuss improvement measures for the Shutdown System at the Regulatory Challenge meeting hosted by the Prime Minister's Office at the end of this month. They will seek common ground by hearing opinions from the gaming industry, youth and parent organizations, and related government departments.

A Ministry of Gender Equality and Family official said, "The gaming environment, technical environment, and situations related to parental guidance on children's gaming have changed, and many people agree on the need for system changes from this perspective. The original purpose of the Shutdown System was to improve over-immersion and dependence to foster healthy gaming habits, so we intend to discuss various opinions together."

Professor Hwang Yong-seok of Konkuk University's Department of Media Communication explained, "In areas like gaming, effectiveness is achieved through parental control and other educational means working together; access blocking like the Shutdown System is ineffective. Games have a global network structure, and the gaming market has no borders. Considering that the benefits of regulation are not significant, abolition is a natural step."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.